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As a textbook, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology has always been immensely popular. Now in its fourth edition, it has been completely revised and updated to provide a comprehensive overview and to reflect all the latest developments in this rapidly expanding area. Written by recognised experts, the book aims to identify the impact that molecular biology has had on the development of biotechnology, with each of the nineteen chapters describing a specific subject area relevant to the subject. The impressive breadth of coverage includes areas such as plant biotechnology; food technology; vaccine development; the production of transgenic plants and animals; and the addition of an appropriate and timely new chapter devoted to bioinformatics. Presenting information in an easily assimilated form, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology makes an ideal undergraduate text. It will be of particular interest to students of biology and chemistry, as well as to scientists from outside the field requiring a rapid introduction to the subject.

Molecular Biology of RNA Tumor Viruses deals with the molecular biology and biologic significance of RNA tumor viruses. Methods and procedures with broad application to diverse areas of molecular biology, including cell culture procedures, competition radioimmunoassays, molecular hybridization, oligonucleotide mapping, heteroduplex mapping, and restriction endonuclease techniques, are considered. This book is organized into 12 chapters and begins with a historical overview of tumor virology beginning with the early studies of Peyton Rous and leading up to the significant surge of activity during the later decade. The biology of endogenous retroviruses, their transmission both within and between species, and cellular regulatory factors influencing their expression are subsequently discussed. This book then addresses the nature and origin of transforming RNA viruses and gives a detailed review of knowledge concerning the genomic structure of type C viruses. Translational products encoded by the type C viral genome are examined in ensuing chapters, emphasizing the viral reverse transcriptase. Other mammalian retroviruses, including the mouse mammary tumor virus and type D isolates of primates, are also described. The book concludes by evaluating the possibility of direct etiologic involvement of either endogenous or exogenous RNA tumor viruses in human cancers. This book will be of value both to graduate students and to established investigators with specific interest in other aspects of molecular biology.